530d M Sport Auto 4dr Saloon

Armchair on wheels....

I have the BMW 530 M Sport Auto, 16 plate. I do a fair amount of motorway mileage and find the car drives beautifully. Presently, I am getting 42 mpg which I think is very good for a 3 ltr engine. Previously, I had a 330 M Sport Estate and the step up to the 5 series is most noticeable in two areas. Firstly, the ride quality as the 5 series is so much more composed; where the 3 series bounces around the 5 series is steady and cosseting. Secondly, whilst I found the 3 series comfortable, the 5 series trumps it. The seats are deeper, there is more legroom and the driving position with the large centre console provides for a relaxing journey. Despite driving 300 or 400 miles a day sometimes, I still feel reasonably relaxed on my arrival home.
Now the negatives. The interior, is very conservative and lacks the wow factor of a Mercedes. The car comes with BMW's sat nav and idrive. I call the sat nav "Traffic hunter" as it's absolutely useless IMHO. It seems to seek out the worst traffic jams. It's hopelessly dated, in one instance taking me to a petrol station which had in the interim been redeveloped into a 10 storey block of flats. The radio is poor too; fiddly and difficult to store and find stations.
Finally, my experience of the local BMW dealers has been poor. Shoddy bodywork repairs, crappy dealership premises dissuade me from using them. Instead I used one of HJs recommended independents for a service.

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